The Sensible Sentencing Trust Wellington branch would like to congratulate Judith Collins and the National government for their proposed changes to the criminal justice system announced under their election law and order policy. The proposals are positive …National Party on right track with Law & Order policy

The Sensible Sentencing Trust Wellington branch would like to congratulate Judith Collins and the National government for their proposed changes to the criminal justice system announced under their election law and order policy. The proposals are positive steps that continue to steer the justice back in a direction that will see it working for those who obey the law rather than criminals who break the law.

The changes include tougher access to parole and the introduction of ‘civil detention orders’ which would give authorities the power to detain the very worst high-risk offenders beyond their sentence if they are deemed to be too high a risk to the community if released. These changes will put the rights of law-abiding citizens and the victims of crime at the forefront of the justice system – which is exactly where they need to be kept.

The responsibility of the justice system is first and foremost to protect the law-abiding public, and it is simply unacceptable for political parties to treat this fact as a political football and jeopardise our right to be safe and secure against crime. Well done National for taking steps to restoring the rights of hard-working kiwi’s to be safe from crime within our own communities.

Judith Collins also acknowledged that there is a need to improve responses to abuse of the elderly and while the Sensible Sentencing Trust agrees whole-heartedly, more can be done in this area. The most vulnerable (including the elderly) within our society deserve even greater protection from the justice system and accordingly we would like to see criminals who offend against them treated with no leniency. The justice system needs to send a message loud and clear to criminals that targeting the most vulnerable is abhorrent behaviour and will not be tolerated.

All in all National’s proposed changes will assist in making our communities safer places and we congratulate them. New Zealand once was, and can be again, one of the safest countries in the world if we have the will and determination to stand up against crime and refuse to accept it as a part of our lives. We all have a right to be safe within our own homes, streets, and communities. We will continue to fight for that right and advocate for a tough stance to be taken against those who would have those rights taken away from us.